Immigration Lies and More (FEMA-Port Strike)
Update 10/17-scroll down. I bolded the entire section
So much going on right now that frankly I cant keep up with, Israeli Terrorism, Pet Eating Haitians, Port Strike, Debates, Hurricanes, etc
And all of it seemingly associated with organized disinformation psyops.
You know, I am a Free Speech guy. Let people say what they want, and if they get it wrong so what. Sometimes we get stuff wrong because we made a mistake, were misinformed or just dumb. Where the line gets blurred to me is when this Wrong Shit gets spread intentionally for political or financial gain, funded and disseminated by corporate billionaires (for profit, non-profit, Super Pacs whatever). This should be illegal.
However, the obvious problem is who is the arbiter of truth? Yeah, enforcement would be a real bitch and I am not saying it should be enforced without a clear paper trail that such a group was knowingly disseminating false information for nefarious purposes.
Enforcement problems aside, we should at least recognize it is morally wrong to do so and not give it as pass by mindlessly parroting “Free Speech”.
Intentionally misleading people is wrong.
An interesting aside is Twitter is now declared as a bastion of free speech because he has allowed the right to spread misinformation to the same degree as the Left spread information on COVID and the Vaccine. Yet many people are still being censored
X has suspended over four times as many accounts in the first half of 2024 — 5.3 million — as Twitter ever did during similar periods. Twitter suspended almost 873,000 accounts in the last half of 2019. That number grew to about 1.3 million account suspensions in the latter half of 2021.
On Thursday, X also suspended journalist Ken Klippenstein's account after he published a 271-page dossier on JD Vance, Trump's running mate in the 2024 election. An X spokesperson told CNN that Klippenstein's suspension was triggered because it included the candidate's home address and part of his Social Security number.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/elon-musk-talks-a-lot-about-free-speech-but-account-suspensions-on-x-have-skyrocketed/ar-AA1rhcVG?ocid=socialshare
Incidentally I downloaded the report but just skimmed it. Based on the little I read I like the pre-Trump JD Vance and wonder if he is a Trojan Horse for Peter Thiel. I’d be a bit nervous if I were Trump
Anyways, back to business. One of the things that shocked me years ago (over 20 years) was a Court Case against Fox News for knowingly reporting a false story. The Court ruled there was no law against a News Organization knowingly disseminating falsehoods. News organizations were the biggest conveyors of information back in the day. Of course, in those days I had not fully awakened to reality and was somewhat naive so it came as something of a shock.
While its not always possible to distinguish between what is True and what is False sometimes it is. 2+2 does not equal 5, New snow is not black , 25 million illegal aliens did not cross the border the last 4 years.
I am sorry, there is no evidence that the latter is true beyond some persons imagination.
So thats going to be my main topic today. What are the numbers?
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Fuzzy Numbers. Thats been the problem which has allowed such untruths to spread.
First, lets start off with some good news using a Fuzzy Number
In August, the Border Patrol recorded about 58,000 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border….,,the lowest number of annual apprehensions along the southwest border since fiscal year 2020, and lower than the monthly average for fiscal year 2019, the last comparable full fiscal year prior to the pandemic.
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-august-2024-monthly-update
So when Walz said during the debate that encounters are less now than when Trump left office he was right
And since the end of Title 42 “Got Aways “ declined. This meant those who otherwise would have been Got Aways now go in via a way they can be tracked, resulting in more encounters
Anyways, the Liars love to use Border Encounters, as if everyone who showed up at the border the past 3 1/2 years was allowed in. The only ones admitted and allowed to apply for asylum and live in the US , at least temporarily are paroled or detained. Most encounters were not admitted while Title 42 was in effect. Title 42 was lifted May 11, 2023 and thus began an unsustainable flood. Fortunately thats over with.
Unfortunately non-Fuzzy numbers are not so easy to find in one place and are often delayed. This information gap creates a void permitting misinformation to spread. This is not an accident, its by design. Illegal immigration is an essential tool for wage suppression. Both parties support it, although Republicans pretend not to for political reasons.
Fortunately the House released a report providing these cherished numbers. Lets continue with some of their Fuzzy Numbers first
CBP is on pace to record more than 11.6 million encounters nationwide by the end of the Biden-Harris administration, a 274-percent increase from the 3.1 million encounters recorded between Fiscal Years (FY)17-20—and that’s not counting the roughly two million known gotaways that have entered on Biden and Harris’ watch.
I do want to explain something. During 2020 when illegal immigrants basically stayed away due to COVID and Lockdowns DHS made a big change to how they counted “Encounters”. They started counting those they turned away at the border and not just those detained or paroled.
This led to a huge jump when things returned to almost normal in 2021. All those being turned away under Title 42 were counted, and often more than once as they tried over and over. In exasperation some tried crossing illegally resulting in more Got Aways
Now for some up to date non-Fuzzy numbers. Paroles. Thank you House Comittee
That sums to 2,610,000. Even adding 2 million got aways and we are not at 5,000,000. But maybe something is missing and its a bit higher
Looking deeper
Notices to Appear” (NTAs)—through which individuals are issued a court date, ordered to appear before an immigration judge, and released into the interior on the condition they show up for their hearing. The use of NTAs has exploded under the Biden-Harris administration. OFO personnel have recorded at least 921,000 NTAs between February 2021-July 2024, with many of them also being paroled with the NTA. More than two million illegal aliens have been released on their own recognizance by the Border Patrol with an NTA in this same timeframe
So thats 2.9 million paroled. Still, including the got aways we are not topping 5 million
Office of Field Operations (OFO) issues NTA’s (parole) at ports of entry while Border Patrol issues it between ports of entry.
Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have their own program-
CHNV- but we also parole a bunch from Ukraine and Afghanistan at port of entry which are handled by OFO
CHNV-
DHS processes Advance Travel Authorizations (ATAs) in the parole
processes for certain nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV). Upon arrival at a Port of Entry, the cost of which is paid by the applicant on a commercial flight (not paid for by government as the Liars claim), and NTA is issued. They are permitted to stay for a fixed period although they may apply for asylum. The number through July 20 is 520,000
These are what JD Vance are calling illegal. These are immigrants have Temporary Protected Status, they are not illegal. The only illegal immigrants are those who sneak across the border or who overstay their visas.
“Almost every Haitian person I’ve met in Springfield either came to the US with a visa or presented themselves at a port of entry at the U.S./Mexico border to lawfully ask for asylum,” Kersh said. “Allowing people to stay in the United States while their asylum claims are adjudicated is not only lawful, it’s required by our legal system.”
For those that don’t apply for asylum they have to go back after 2 years unless they are given an extension
So those 5 million are on on top of the 11 million we had when Trump left office, so about 16 million
By June 2024, DHS data showed that, based on an independent think tank’s estimate of 16.8 million illegal aliens present in the United States
Technically not all illegal, but what ever. But wait a minute, we have removals. Its not a one way street.
From the ICE directors infamous letter
From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled.
So the majority of the 11.6 million encounters at border have been removed. That leaves no more than 5.8 million allowed in. Including those 920,000 coming in at Port of Entry, then 6.7 million, then add in Got Aways and we are at no more than 8.7 million. Probably less because majority can mean 50.1% or 60%
This is a bit higher, but still not close to 25 million. Altogether, we have an increase somewhere between 5-8.7 million, maybe too high, but nothing like they eye popping Whopper of 25 million
But wait, there is more. We also have ICE removals under Title 8. These are folks that already are in the US. CBP did most of the removals before they get in during the Encounters at the Border under Title 42. This expired May 11, 2023. During Biden’s term Title 8 removals which are done by ICE were low, only about 250,000 through fiscal year 2023
But the Ice letter reveals since mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals. So we have over 1 million Ice removals, meaning the increase is only 4-7.7 million.
On top of that, there is a Final Order of removal on 1,292,000, although its unknown how many will be able to be removed
Most of the rest will receive removal notices following their asylum application rejection, as the majority are rejected. But it takes 5 years or more. This is the real problem. If they can be processed in 6 months they can be removed more easily. After 5 years it becomes more difficult. Supposedly the bipartisan border bill that Trump called for to be rejected had a fix for this. This is the real issue which Kamala has pointed out
The ICE Director also went on to say.
The number of aliens on ICE’s non-detained docket has tripled since Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, growing from 2.6 million to 7.4 million in FY 2024.
The Non detained docket is those in US pending asylum and with removal notices that are not detained. That an increase of 4.8 million, and does not include got aways
In the letter sent to Rep. Gonzales, ICE made several shocking admissions about aliens released into the U.S. as part of the non-detained docket. Over 13,000 aliens have convictions for murder. Another 15,000 have convictions for sexual assault.
If that weren’t bad enough, ICE’s letter contained even more detail: 56,000 aliens on the non-detained docket have convictions related to dangerous drugs, 62,000 have convictions for assault; 18,000 have convictions for larceny (theft); 14,000 have convictions for burglary; 13,000 have convictions for weapons offenses, and 2,500 have convictions for kidnapping.
The Liars took various approaches here. Some implied they were convicted criminals before showing up at the border and knowingly released. Others suggested they were all walking free, and most all of them implied the criminals came in or committed crimes in the last 3 1/2 years
ICE has corrected that misunderstanding
The vast majority of the homicide convictions are not individuals who came into the country during the Biden administration: They are immigrants who have been added to ICE’s records over the past 40 years. Many of those on the list were added during the Trump administration.
ICE’s “non-detained” docket. That’s a list of nearly 7 million people who have pending immigration cases before the agency but who are not jailed by ICE for various reasons — such as because they are currently incarcerated by federal, state or local authorities or because they have already served their criminal sentences but have not been deported.
Immigrants living in the United States illegally who commit crimes and go to prison are typically transferred to ICE custody once they complete their sentences here. ICE may try to immediately deport them to their home countries, but some have pending immigration cases and receive permission to remain in the United States while their claims are resolved
The data in Lechleitner’s letter shows that, as of July 21, there were about 660,000 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket. Of those who are not being held by ICE, 425,431 are convicted criminals.
As Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy analyst at the American Immigration Council,noted on X, that number has gone up by 15 percent since 2015, when 368,574 convicted criminals not held by ICE were recorded.
Reichlin-Melnick also noted that many on this docket “have been here for decades” and “can’t be deported, often for diplomatic reasons.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/29/trump-migrants-crimes-harris/
Now many are seemingly surprised that among millions of immigrants there are criminals. Every population has a certain number of criminals. If 10% of immigrants have a criminal record thats better than American Citizens criminal conviction rate of 25%. I am all in favor of deporting them
What about Trumps deportations?
in 2017, a draft memo obtained by the Associated Press proposed deploying as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to arrest undocumented immigrants throughout the interior of the country. The memo was never implemented, but Trump did sign an executive order directing ICE to detain more unauthorized immigrants, including pregnant women and people without criminal records.
Trump pledged to immediately deport 2 million to 3 million people after his 2016 win but never came close to hitting those targets. At his administration’s high-water mark in 2019, ICE carried out 267,258 deportations and returns, Department of Homeland Security data show.
https://archive.is/www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/20/trump-mass-deportations-immigration/
Trump detained a few more but he didn’t deport much more in his 4 years. One problem with deportations is the country they are citizens from has to be willing to accept them. Obviously if Trump couldn’t deport hundreds of thousands of criminal immigrants that he inherited in his 4 years, he probably wont do it the next 4 years either.
Maybe he puts them in Concentration Camps and rents them out to Big Corporations to work. No idea. Some might like that idea.
Now here is another check from CIS up to March 24. If starting from Biden’s inauguration (not winning the election) the Foreign Born population increased 6.6 million (not all of that would have been illegal)
Probably too many numbers here for most people but there is no way there is anywhere near 25 million that came in the last 4 years. One can argue that 5-8.7 million (or more accurately 4-7.7 million) is too many and I would agree, but lets take a hard look at why so many are coming.
Take a look at Venezuela and Cuba. We sanction them and cause economic conditions to be such that people leave.
Then we have everyone screaming how easy it is to come in, open borders with millions flooding the gates, and what wonderful benefits there are, and people outside the country hear this and believe it and want to join the party
Then we hear stuff like how these people showing up at the border and allowed in a carrying bags full of Fentanyl. Thats BS. Now maybe some of the got aways are bringing some in but over 90% is coming in at border check points in vehicles driven by American Citizens. When Trump was in and the border supposedly secure Fentanyl deaths increased 3 times. So it wasn’t the foot traffic
The rate of overdose deaths involving fentanyl spiked by 279% between 2016 and 2021 from 5.7 per 100,000 to 21.6 per 100,000, according to a report published early Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics' National Vital Statistics System -- which looked at death certificate records.
Update- October 17, 2024-I want to clarify a couple of points from my post and mention “Kamalas “ App which I neglected to mention
There has also been recent relevant news related to my post that I want to comment on
Focusing on Haitians for simplicity, They are here via two mechanisms
Temporary Protected Status -TPS-(Immigration Act of 1990) or Humanitarian Parole (Immigration and Nationality Act-INA)
TPS grants those already in US temporary protected status to if they are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions
Haitian is designated as such a country and Haitians already in the country by designated dates are allowed to stay temporarily.
The INA also grants DHS the discretion to temporarily allow certain non-U.S. citizens to enter or remain in the United States if they apply for admission but lack any legal basis for admission. They are given humanitarian parole upon arrival with the required travel authorization.
So many Haitians in US were granted TPS before Biden going back to 1990. Although temporary it keeps getting extended.
Others, especially under Biden came in via Humanitarian Parole provided they have a US sponsor and can pay for their own away and are approved.
They are allowed in for 2 years and may obtain a work authorization. They are not eligible for Federal Housing Subsidies
This brings us to the app that Walz said Kamala created
CBP One App allows individuals granted humanitarian parole through country-specific parole programs to complete a pre-screening process prior to entry at an airport. This is necessary for travel authorization and parole
CBP One also has become the platform for migrants at Mexico–United States border to schedule appointments for asylum processing at ports of entry. This reduces the chaos of entering between the border
The CBP one app was actually developed during the Trump administration. CBP One’s original uses included 1) providing travelers with access to Form I-94 information, 2) scheduling inspection appointments for perishable cargo, and 3) assisting international organizations who sought to help individuals enter the United States
I suspect one of Peter Thiels companies had a role in the development as it yields a tone of digital and biometrics data but I cant find evidence of this.
Now for the News. Biden said he will not extend those who are in US via Humanitarian Parole under CHNV (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela). That mean those who have not applied for asylum or found some other means of obtaining legal status will be required to leave voluntarily or be removed. Springfield residence rejoice (maybe not the employers or landlords)
Another problem blamed on immigrants is rising crime rate. Only one thing, the crime rate is not rising, at least in most places. These are just more Lies that the faithful swallow because they want them to be true.
FBI 2023 report
The 2023 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, or more than 85 percent of those agencies in the FBI’s program.
The agencies included in the report protect nearly 316 million people across the U.S. And every agency with at least 1 million people in its jurisdiction provided a full year of data to the FBI, according to the report.
The FBI’s report is in line with the findings of the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice, which earlier this year analyzed crimes rates across 39 U.S cities, and found that most violent crimes are at or below 2019 levels.
That group found there were 13 percent fewer homicides across 29 cities that provided data during the first half of 2024 compared the same period the year before.
Now JD Vance wants to blame housing and rental prices on these immigrants. We have just seen that the numbers coming in in relation to the total population are small (~2%), and these are not buyers but renters. And they share rentals so you might be looking at up to 4 immigrants to a rental unit.
Granted, I wont say that they don’t put some upward pressure on rentals but most of them are not eligible for Federal rental subsidies, especially those paroled at the border, and most of them congregate in sanctuary states/cities.
For those that are eligible for rental subsidies they might be competing with other American Citizens for eligible housing although there is a waiting list, and even those not eligible for subsidies they might be able to pay a higher aggregate rent due to pooling than citizens wanting to rent as individuals. This causes those landlords to drop out of the subsidized rental market and rent to Haitians at market rates. This is what happened in Springfield, pissing off citizens living in subsidized housing
JD Vance provided a link to a study which suggested every 1% increase in immigrant population accounts for a 1% increase in price or rent. Well housing prices and rent went way beyond that, and not just in sanctuary states.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051137717300025
Housing prices .
If you want to solve a problem you have to correctly identify it. Not enough Houses are being built, especially in the mid price range. We have a housing deficit of 3 million . Big investors buying up most of what is being sold paying top dollar keeping prices high by reducing inventory.
One thing to understand are about market price of a unique property like housing (each house is unique in some way) , art or stock in limited supply (unlike commodities ) is that the price is not the value of that item to the average buyer on the market. Using art as an example you are only selling 1 item to 1 person who is willing to pay more than other potential buyers at auction. If you were selling a million of the same piece at Wal-Mart and wanted to sell all million pieces, the price would be much lower because they would not attach as much value to that item as the guy who paid the highest price at auction.
The price at Wal-Mart will be the market price because thats the price the market will pay
Another way to put it is supply vs demand but thats too easy😉
Thats the same with housing. You might have a 100 potential buyers for your house, but only the one who attaches the most value to your house will pay the highest price, which then becomes the market price. So this is a misnomer, 1 person is not a market
So consider a big investor called BlackRock although other lesser known names are bigger. They own thousands of houses that they rent. As long as housing prices stay high and they can keep the supply of homes on the market low they can keep the supply of renters high and they will have no choice but to pay the higher rents. So by buying up homes on market at high prices they keep Zillows estimate of homes placed on market high, they keep the price of the 1000 homes they already own high, and higher, and keep renters from leaving the rental market because they cant afford to buy, and they can force rents up.
As for building new homes its nothing to do with Federal Regulations as most regulations are at state/local level.
Home builders want to earn more money. You can do this one of two ways.
1)You can build a lot of homes and make money by selling volume , knowing the more volume there is lowers the price you get. This is risky as you have to invest a lot in labor, materials and land purchases. Yikes. What if the market turns?
2)You can build fewer homes but sell into an inflating house market . Inflating because supply is low. You can also target homes for the affluent who are less affected by economic downturns and earn more money per homes built as they fetch a higher price
So after the last housing collapse builders by tacit collusion chose number 2. Only way to change that is to step in to incentivize home building in areas where people want to live
And building homes or cities on Federal land where nobody lives is not going to work. Most Federal Land is in the Western States and Alaska
Also Kamala s plan is not a solution either. Giving $25,000 or $50,000 for a down payment is just going to raise prices. Just like increased student loans raise tuition prices, and rent subsidies lead to higher rents. Its really that simple
Back in the 1960’s a home price equalled a year or two gross income for a single household earner. Now its 6-7 times for combined 2 household earners. That Wage-Price equilibrium needs to close or Klaus Schwabs prediction that “You will Own nothing “ will become true, especially for the middle class as the lower classes already pretty much own nothing
Sorry for the digression. Back to immigration
Not to say there is not a cost to these immigrants, but there are also benefits. They tend to be younger and pay into social security and Medicare. They do jobs Americans are too fat or lazy to do. Plus they have children and birth rates are low. We have almost 1 million abortions a year (over 20% of pregnancies) with another 15% miscarriages.
A fertility rate below 1.6 means 50% less new people after three generations, say 100 years. The U.S. is at 1.64.
Of course, JD Vance and Trump are promoting more births but the Middle Class can not afford having babies. Only the poor and rich can afford it today. Thats what 45 years of neoliberal economics, union busting, off shoring and tax breaks for the rich have delivered
And the most amazing thing to me is how many of Republican supporters whom are hurt hardest by these policies still support them. A perfect example was the strike by longshore men. Many of these guys are Republicans although the union leaders may lean left. The group they were striking against (USMX) were Foreign Corporations which control the shipping and port terminal operations including those from China and Hong Kong who raked in obscene profits .
United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), whose board is dominated by foreign-flag carriers Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, CMA CGM, and Cosco Shipping.
Their demands at most might have resulted in 0.1-0.2% inflation in imported product prices over 6 years yet the Twitter Right were angry at the workers who live in expensive cities and must work lots of OT to earn a decent wage
Yet these same folks cheer 20% Tarriffs that they will pay.😂
Sorry, I digress yet again. Back go immigration.
Now Kamala proposes a path to citizenship for those already here. Thats what Reagan started in the 1980’s when we had 3-4 million illegal immigrants. Makes sense. Once they are in and have stayed awhile its hard to reverse that
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000016b-4c56-df00-a9fb-6c7758440001
Lets look at a few more Lies though I cant cover all in one post so I will reserve Economic Lies for another post. Lets look at the Hurricane Helene disaster and see what they are up to.
Lie-FEMA stole the money for illegal immigrants
TRUMP ON KAMALA: "They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank so they could give it to their illegal immigrants who they want to vote in this election."
Well, Congress authorized the spending for that purpose
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) …..spent more than $1.4 billion since the fall of 2022 to address the migrant crisis.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated $640.9 million this year in FEMA-administered funds to aid state and local governments coping with the influx of asylum seekers — though Mayorkas’ office fired back late Thursday, insisting that those funds couldn’t be used for hurricane relief because Congress authorized them specifically for the migrant crisis.
DHS allocated $780 million for the migrant crisis last year through the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which funds relief not associated with natural disasters, and the FEMA Shelter and Services Program, which was authorized in late 2022 by Congress to respond to the migrant crisis.
The $640.9 million spent this year comes solely from the Shelter and Services Program.
How about Trump?
In 2019, Donald Trump’s administration approved taking over a quarter of a billion dollars from the nation’s national disaster relief coffers to fund his plans for the southern border.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-fema-hurricane-helene-migrants-1235124342/
This was not authorized by Congress
The allocations were sent to Congress as a notification rather than a request
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1046691
Its like somebody robs you and leaves you a note telling you what they took
and what they will do with it.
Misleading. They are only giving disaster victims $750
They used this one with Lahiana too
This is an automatic pre-authorized stipend to all disaster victims, like in Lahaina. We have already spent 3 billion in Lahaina and no doubt NC will be receiving as much over time (not just the 6 million Trump authorized in 2017 following their October 2016 Hurricane)
https://x.com/petelincoln48/status/1840605068464415156
Hurricane Helene will cause the tax payers billions, but Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither can it be rebuilt in a day. It takes years
Sobering 2017 report on NC recovery from Hurricane Mathew
Princeville: Nearly one year after Hurricane Matthew displaced thousands of families and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, North Carolina continues working to help survivors and communities rebuild, with more help needed for full recovery.
https://governor.nc.gov/news/one-year-later-north-carolina-continues-recovering-hurricane-matthew
What do you get when your state helps elect a president and then requests $900 million from his administration to help rebuild after one of the worst natural disasters in its history?
If you’re North Carolina, not much.
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, Governor Cooper requested nearly a billion dollars from the Trump administration.
Last month, Cooper announced in a press release this morning, he learned that the state would only receive $6.1 million—less than 1 percent of the ask.
99% of aid they requested was rejected by Trump. I guess those areas were not MAGA enough
According to a Thursday report from E&E News, in 2018 — as wildfires ravaged large swaths of California — Trump initially refused to approve aid to the state because he felt some of the affected regions didn’t like him enough.
Mark Harvey, then Trump’s Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council Staff, told E&E News, a subset of Politico, that the former president only approved the aid after being shown data proving that the affected counties contained a sufficient amount of his supporters.
“We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you,” Harvey recalled. His account was backed up by former Trump White House Homeland Security Adviser Olivia Tro
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-fema-hurricane-helene-migrants-1235124342/
I had someone on Twitter chastise me and told me FEMA had never run out of money before. A quick check shows they have run out 9 times since 2001
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/fema-disaster-relief-funding-2024-hurricane-season/5708864/
This year it was not unexpected
As part of the 2024 appropriations bill, Congress provided $20.261 billion for the DRF. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2024, FEMA projected that DRF balances would not be enough to meet requirements and asked for more money. However, Congress didn’t act on their $9 billion request while in session.
Congress is now on recess through the end of the month (the Senate is tentatively expected to return to Washington, D.C., on September 9). It’s not clear when—or if—Congress will take up the request for additional funding.
Apparently not
Meanwhile, the DRF will continue to head south, according to the most recent projections. The “Majors” balance as shown below refers to funds available for major disasters.
When the DRF is insufficient, FEMA will prioritize lifesaving and life-sustaining activities using Immediate Needs Funding (INF). During INF, FEMA will pause all new obligations related to public assistance, such as reimbursement for disaster activity that has already been completed and permanent work, as well as hazard mitigation, that are not essential for lifesaving and life-sustaining activities.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2024/08/15/federal-emergency-management-agency-says-its-disaster-fund-has-run-out-of-money/
Maybe we should be blaming the Republican controlled Congress?
I do have to ask though, for all the talk of Climate Change, and regardless of cause, Climate does change, so why aren’t we doing more to mitigate it.?
Looking at the scenes of the disaster, over what USGS said was a 12 inch precipitation event in Asheville and perhaps 20 inches elsewhere, my mind is blown.
Living in Taipei 100 yards from a river whose source originates in nearby mountains we get 12 inch-20 inch events from time to time. Aside from localized flooding here and there, mostly its just a nuisance. Wasn’t always like that. 24 years ago a serious typhoon dumped 50 inches of rain in a few days and a neighbor drowned in the car basement from a flash flood when water from the river broke through the flood wall and flooded the car park. The newly built subway system also got flooded and was closed for months
But improvements were made and 50 inches is not 12 inches. Looking through NC preparation and flood mitigation plans ,which were pretty skimpy and seemingly in early stages, they were not even looking at Western North Carolina. Their focus was more on the coastal region. Rich state like that should have done a lot more IMO
Its like nobody even expected flooding of that nature, making me wonder if a dam broke but nothing that should have affected Western NC that I can find
Its not like nobody saw this coming. The NWS (NOAS) reported this days in advance. Somebody dropped the ball here
9/25 report
Anyways, everyone wanting the Feds out of their hair and let states do their own business sure change their tune when disaster strikes. Then its “Daddy save me”!. If people only knew how much government spending props up their states economy they would be amazed. Between Federal Employees, Government Contracts to Defense and Intelligence Contractors, Military Bases, and Grants to University Scientists not to mention aid for Medicaid and Education, Medicare and Social Security. $260 billion for Florida alone
Remember, every dollar in government debt is in somebody’s pocket, mostly the rich and big business but some crumbs do trickle down to the little people
Anyways, I will leave that for my take on Kamala and Trumps Economic Plan. Kamala actually took the time to write one down, Trump prefers not to do so as he prefers rambling speeches.
End